Brothers and Nightmares
by Hannahmayski
Summary: "Garou crouches in front of him. His pale, gaunt face twisted into sheer unrestrained rage. Jae-ha's cheek stings and he knows there's a beating waiting for him." Jae-ha's past catches up with him but luckily he has Shin-ah


**A fic I through together today (sorry about any errors!) I haven't forgotten about The Blue Spirit! I've written 4 chapters so far but I won't post until I have a clear idea of where I'm going with it.**

 **Anyway enjoy!**

 **Summary: "Garou crouches in front of him. His pale, gaunt face twisted into sheer unrestrained rage. Jae-ha's cheek stings and he knows there's a beating waiting for him." Jae-ha's past catches up to him but Shin-ah's always there when he needs it.**

 _Jae-ha had learned to never take sleep for granted. Sleep was an escape from the bitter reality of his early life. Sleep was a place no one could chain him down. No shackles to stop him from soaring into the sky. No one could stop him from trying to touch the clouds. Sleep allowed for Jae-ha to be happy. Well most of the time._

 _Jae-ha had also learned to wake up quickly. His life has no time for grogginess. As quick as he can he blinks to awareness. Garou crouches in front of him. His pale, gaunt face twisted into sheer unrestrained rage. Jae-ha's cheek stings and he knows there's a beating waiting for him._

 _Garou bares his teeth like a feral animal and slams his fist into Jae-ha's stomach with inhuman force and Jae-ha can't hold back a grunt._

 _Garou raises his fist and slams into Jae-ha's face. Again, and again and again, until all Jae-ha can taste is blood._

 _But this time Garou doesn't stop. His fists keep coming. Jae-ha is at the mercy of the bigger, older, stronger dragon._

 _He has to take it. Garou always stops after a while, surely he'll stop soon._

 _The blood splatters down into Jae-ha's face and he curls into a ball as Garou's punches keep getting harder and stronger._

 _He tries to call out. He tries to apologise, anything to make the pain stop but all that comes out is a muffled scream._

 _The blood blurring his vision, Jae-ha makes out the feral face of his predecessor and fights to hold back another scream. His face is twisted into a smile that holds no happiness only pain, sadness, loneliness, desperation and shame._

 _Jae-ha feels a tear spring to his eye as another fist connects with his face. As if the punch was a switch, the tears come out fast and all Jae-ha wants is for it to end._

 _Anything to make it stop._

 _Anything to-_

Jae-ha bolted upright, his hands clasping at his shirt as he desperately tried to breathe through his battered and strained lungs.

He vaguely registered that his face was covered in sweat and tears and that there's someone beside him but he can barely breathe for god's sake.

The scars on his wrists and ankles flared up and burned with an unshakable agony as if the injuries were made just a moment ago.

There is a sudden and unexpected pressure on his back and suddenly Jae-ha's is able to take in the air he needs. The touch is grounding.

While Garou had his occasional break in the brutal stampede of his sad and hopeless thoughts to give Jae-ha a tender touch rather than a beating it was never often enough or plentiful enough for him to get used to or learn how to initiate such a thing.

The hand on his back is barely there but the affection and well-meaning behind it is almost overwhelming. It reminded him of Gigan.

Gigan was the first person to ever look at him as a human rather than a monster. And the first person to touch him with only the intention of kindness. Gigan was back in Awa and Jae-ha was with the other dragons, the princess, Hak and Yoon now which meant the hand belonged to someone else.

His breaths were coming out with more ease and Jae-ha turned to see who it was.

Shin-ah stared back at him. His mask made his face unreadable as per usual but the fact that Shin-ah was there and not making a big show and dance about it as one of the others may have done – all with the best intentions of course - spoke volumes.

The others in the group were great at comforting but they all went about the matter in different ways.

Yona seemed to be able to calm any of them down no matter how riled up and bloodthirsty they were which Jae-ha couldn't help but admire. Her voice was powerful yet tender and her small touches were calming beyond explanation.

Zeno and Kija were cuddle monsters. They had a strange but effective method of comfort by lots of physical touches. Cuddles, hugs or if the person was laying down Zeno had a tendency to just lay on top. It was weird and yet Zeno and Kija's cuddle sessions seemed to be very effective.

Yoon approached the situation with hard logic. He refused to sugar coat any of their troubles. He'd break down the situation and give perspective and advice. Sometimes he'd let whoever was sad help with cooking and give a quick hug.

Hak and Shin-ha had a similar approach. Neither were very physically affectionate people so a hug or a pat from either boy was treasured. But their presence and a pat on the shoulder are sometimes all the person needs.

Jae-ha didn't think he could face any questions at the moment. He couldn't face any "It's okay"s by people who had no knowledge of why he was upset in the first place. Not that that was their fault. Jae-ha hadn't told anyone in the group of the treatment he received at Ryokuryuu Village. He wasn't ready for any pitied looks.

Shin-ah tilted his head forcing him out of his thoughts and reminding Jae-ha of the Seiryuu's beloved squirrel, Ao.

"Thanks, Shin-ah" His voice comes out far scratchier and raw than he'd like but it's not as though Shin-ah would tease him.

The Seiryuu nodded and pat him on the back and removed his hand. He sat next to Jae-ha with his legs crossed with obviously no intention of moving anytime soon.

Shin-ah's gaze was incredibly powerful. Despite the wood covering the magnificent eyes, Jae-ha could sense their strength as if they were piercing his soul and reading every fragment of his being.

"Your village… wasn't nice either" Shin-ah's voice was always soft and hesitant like he was still working out how to string long sentences together but the statement had no malice or pity behind it. Only understanding.

Jae-ha tried his best to keep the even look on his face but he doubted it would fool the over observant Shin-ah. "I guess you could say that." He let out a humourless chuckle, holding a hand over his mouth to not wake the others.

According to the brief information Kija gave and the strange look of guilt that had danced across Zeno's features when Jae-ha had asked about the other dragon he discovered Shin-ah's life at the village was about as brilliant and healthy as his own.

If anyone else had come and woken him up Jae-ha doubted it would have gone as smoothly. Shin-ah understood him in a way others couldn't. Shin-ah's companionship held more importance in Jae-ha's life then he'd care to admit.

Shin-ah never pressured him to do anything. Not to talk about what his dream was or what his childhood like. Jae-ha knew that if he did want to talk Shin-ah would be more than accommodating.

Jae-ha hadn't been willing to leave Awa and Gigan in pursuit of a pre-forged destiny and to become the pawn in an unknown king's fight. But the dragons that he had met were not what he expected.

He expected to be treated like a weapon. A tool to accomplish whatever his king wanted. Instead, he was treated like a human. He thought he'd only gain fellow warriors but instead he gained a family.

Shin-ah's mask glowed eerily in the soft morning light and Jae-ha shuffled closer to the Seiryuu until their shoulders were pressed together.

"You're really cool you know Shin-ah" Jae-ha whispered and he could see a red blush creep up Shin-ah's face on his cheeks where the mask didn't reach.

"...So are you"

Jae-ha grinned so hard his cheeks hurt. It wasn't everyday Shin-ah gave compliments.

The two dragons leant against each other, dozing and comforted by each other's presence until the vibrant sun rose far above the trees and the others began to rouse from their sleep.

Ryokuryuu and Seiryuu, Jae-ha and Shin-ah. They were both a little damaged. A little bruised and a little broken but together with their new family, they'd be okay.


End file.
